Growing Herbs Indoors
Everyone loves to grow plants once spring has arrived. Why not grow your own herbs? Growing herbs indoors require very little maintenance. They not only provide you with living plants inside your home, but many of them have very pleasant aromas and you can use them to flavor your food. Many herbs can produce year round if you move them inside your home.
You should begin your indoor herb garden at your local garden shop, Lowe’s, Home Depot, or even at Wal-Mart. Some people like to use the pots that the small herb plants come in, and other people like to choose a new and even a larger pot that will set a mood in a room, or compliment the flowers of the herb.
If you decide to purchase a new pot, you will want to check and make sure that it has drainage holes in it; some people have purchased very nice pots without checking and once they were home they found out that there were no drainage holes in them.
Next you can start your indoor herb garden from seeds; however, it may be much better to start with small plants. You will want to have a wide variety of herb plants, such as Mint, Rosemary, Thyme, Garlic, Ginger, Parsley and any other herb that you may like.
The two things that are crucial is a small book or pamphlet if you do not know any thing about growing herbs; and the second most crucial item is the proper soil for your herbs. First purchase some potting soil, sand, small gravel, and a small bag of lime.
Start by mixing the potting soil, sand and a handful of gravel together; next read the instructions on the lime bag to find out how much lime to use for your pots for the particular herb that you are planting, then before you transfer the new soil to the pot be sure to layer the bottom of the pot with a layer of gravel for better drainage.
The next thing to consider for indoor herb growing is the amount of light that they get. There are some great places where herbs do very well. Near a window or sliding glass door which is best when it faces south, but north and other directions can work also. However, if the light still makes the plants long and fragile, then you should install a fluorescent light near them. Your plants need at least six hours of light each day. Herbs also need to have a little fresh air for a few hours a day. It is a good idea to take your herb plants out side for a few hours a day, once a week. When taking them out do it in the morning or in the late afternoon when the sun is not so hot that it wilts the stems or leaves. Herbs need at least six hours of light a day.
Always keep a check on the moisture level of your herb plants, because over watering them could be very harmful. There are water control sticks which are available to help determine when to water your plants.
Having an indoor herb garden puts you in charge, not nature. You control the lighting, the watering, the temperature and everything. The great thing about controlling these conditions is that you can grow even the more difficult to herbs inside your home, such as Oregano or even harder herb plants to such as Basil and Sage.
